TSK: New Type Of Flame
by Knoto
Summary: I am a child of the future. I am the daughter of Hino Rei and Aino Minako. I am of Love. I am of Flame. I am Yumi. An insight of a character made for the TSK storyline and how she views herself. Some more questions are answered through her eyes.


A/N: Alright, those who know of the TSK series know I've been slacking in that department as of late. I was thinking of the three eldest children and how I can give them theme songs. We all know that a character theme should embody them totally and I feel that this one captures Yumi perfectly. Without further delay I present to you the second One-Shot within the TSK series. Please read and Review. Anyone who has read the first book will be safe to read this. I gave this a lot of thought so please let me know what you think!

Song: Strange Fire  
BY: Indigo Girls  
_SONG LYRICS  
_Actual story

I DO NOT OWN SAILOR MOON!

Side note: Yumi is the child of Rei and Minako in case you've forgotten. She will be a barer of Mars but as we know the power of both Mars and Venus runs in her veins. This fiction centers around her and the things we've yet to understand, perhaps shedding light in places that had left questions before. There WILL be flashbacks taken directly from the first book in TKS series. This is Yumi's point of view for some of the events that took place and how she defines herself.

* * *

I am a child of the future. One sent back in time by the irrational actions from ones I once loved. I am a warrior, built from the passions of flame. I have been taught to kill mercilessly, forgetting the emotions of a human soul. I have been told by the people of Mars, those that wield flames, that only through war could any battle be won. The path they walk tainted in an inferno and blood even in histories forgotten past. Only the vengeance of flame, one built from within, can guide the people of mars. My mother, Hino Rei, governs the people hell bent on destruction. It is only for their passion, whatever that drives their soul may be, that allows them to press forward in life. Be it to seek solace from past sins or to forge a combatant worthy to be called a solider of flame the people of Mars unite under her guiding hand.

I am not only that of Passion. I am also that of Love, embodying emotions in all forms. Everything I feel is raw. I cannot explain why I feel others as I do, but, I can say it is the job of barer for Venus that must govern such things. Aino Minako, my mother, Queen of Venus, guide the people of emotion to further their cause in the way of the heart. To love freely and to love deeply is something taught among her people. Emotion is not all that she governs, but she has yet to understand her own abilities fully. Even as an adult she cannot match what I know. Perhaps it is the merger of power that surges through my veins that allow me to know she has not reached her true power. Little does she know what the future holds; even I can feel its foreboding presence in the souls around me. The people she governs do not wish to fight in another galactic battle.

_I come to you with strange fire, I make an offering of love  
The incense of my soul is burned by the fire in my blood  
I come with a softer answer to the questions that lie in your path  
I want to harbor you from the anger find a refuge from the wrath_

I am Yumi, born with the blood of Love and Flame. The ability to be quick to anger and not to easily forgive has caused me to willingly accept the irrationality of all human emotion. In the heat of battle I fight with that of a hardened solider, not caring who I may kill in may path, even if that may one day lead to my own demise. This is my choice. I have seen the tides of battle, watched as many I loved were lost to the carnage. I blame my parents for such actions. They cannot understand what the merger of power allows me to see. When I do not fight, the people I care about stand by my side. When I do fight, the people I care about are also the ones who I send into battle, knowingly risking lives as a price willing to be paid. Why? For a kingdom forged by that of the Light Moon. All I can say is I am very displeased about the reign we take over in the galaxy. One day, if my visions remain true, the raw emotion tells me we will see a bloody future due to this grave mistake. When I first traveled back in time we made a pact. I asked those that followed me to play a role of innocence. I ordered that they seemed to be children who had not seen the things we had. I too played the part well.

-----------FLASHBACK------

A child stepped forth with long golden hair, her violet eyes looking to the floor. She seemed fearful as she stopped her approach next to Saria, hiding behind her. In size she was the smallest of the three. Her attire mirrored Rei's tastes more than anything, if her miko garb was anything to go by. Meek and mild seemed to be her over all attitude. When Minako got close to the child in bewilderment she flinched and hid further behind the time mage she knew so well.

Stroking the child's hair in comfort Saria explained the situation. "Yumi is a quiet child for the most part. She takes part of most duties that come from tending to the fire shrines on Mars. She's very well disciplined in that regard but it also leaves her little time to play as a normal child. She tends to follow Chibiusa around quite a lot and usually that's the only time she will truly get into trouble. Really, as far as friends go she's pretty much a loner, she does deal with the other children however she would much rather cling to the adults or me. She likes to play volleyball when she's not studying or tending to the shrine but she's not very good. One thing that is a goal for her to learn here is that while responsibility is fine to keep grasp of, you don't need to be so serious."

Yumi gave a polite bow. "So you are my mother's from this time?" Came the very quiet voice. Curiosity, a trait most likely passed on from Minako, finally got better of the ten year old and she came out of hiding.

"I guess we are." Minako said a friendly smile on her face, however when she bent down to greet the little girl on a more even level, she became scared and hid again. The little girl wasn't so much scared of Minako as much as being in a new place. Rei could fully understand that feeling. If Yumi lived any type of structured life on Mars that neared that of the life Rei had as a child on earth, it would be clear that Yumi wouldn't like to be in new and strange places.

Rei was still in shock about this whole idea but smiled politely as so not to frighten her more. The common ground of shrine life made it far easier for the child to warm up to her. "You'll like it here if you are used to the life of a shrine maiden. I live in a shrine." Rei said offering out not a hand out to the child, but instead she knelt down, allowing her daughter to make the first move. This was far better received as Yumi noted some familiarity, proceeding closer to Rei.

---------End FLASHBACK----

I hated to allow myself to act so weakly. I have to be a combat leader when I take the stage, because of that, I shouldn't have allowed myself to act inadequately in the face of those that fuel my anger. Saria acted only as I had commanded, yet in her eyes I saw her seem displeased at the lie I had so willingly embraced. It seemed that we were unable to do much else at the time. Thus we had to allow fate take its path. Hopefully if the Pluto from the future was correct we could amend the war entirely. I was not given all of the answers, but thanks to Sari I had been satisfied enough to play along.

_This is a message, a message of love  
Love that moves from the inside out  
Love that never grows tired  
I come to you with strange fire_

I wanted to be at peace. I grow tired of that damnable war and the memories laced within my soul. I wanted to forgive my parents. I wanted to find love, and I wanted to see days filled with laughter and not destruction. We had hoped to do a great many things and I had the intent to allow the fake belief we had instilled in our parents of the past. The deception was one I hadn't been unable to hide for long, and soon I found myself making more and more lies. I remember hearing their footsteps in the hall, feeling their presence as I practiced the arts I had learned so well. I was an expert in my abilities even back then. I found myself on the brink of being found out and I knew that soon the protective wall we had built would shatter. No longer would we seem as innocent as we once had instilled so well.

------FLASHBACK-----  
After a few minutes of aimless walking and two flights of stairs later Minako and Rei came to a door that had the faint smell of incenses, along with an intense heat. The spiritual energy that was displayed in the heat caught Rei's immediate attention. "Hmm, that's odd, what is this energy doing here?" She placed her hand on the door feeling around searching for anything abnormal, earning a quizzical look from her lover.

"Well are you going to open that door or are you going to keep fondling it?" Minako asked with a smirk on her face, earning her a fiery glair that in no uncertain terms meant 'not another word'.

Slowly and quietly Rei opened the door, what lay before her was a sight she had gotten used to, and yet it was different in so many ways. It was Yumi in front of a fire, this was normal, what was not normal was how she was playing with a chain hearts that just so happened to be set on fire as well. She was dancing in a circle pattern, the chain spinning weaves around her, and yet she seemed to feel no pain. Minako watched in silent understanding, Rei on the other hand was confused and made it known.

"Yumi what is that exactly?" Rei asked still in awe of the prospect that Senshi powers could even do this.

"Oh this, I don't really know. All I know is sometimes when I'm in deep thought it comes out, but it won't come out for me unless I think really hard, even then it has a mind of its own." she said before adding "go ahead and touch it if you want, it won't burn people unless I dislike the person."

Rei looked skeptically at this fiery chain. How could it not burn people? Even if fire was her specialty it burned her on occasion if she wasn't careful, if the accident with her flame sniper was anything to remember. Minako looked the same way, her chain was gentle if she chose it to be so, but, it could also slice people to bits if her heart willed it. At that thought it finally made sense, stepping forth Minako put both hands on the chain, it was warm, but not hot, and it wasn't painful at all either.

"I get it now; this was the merger in power. It didn't fuse within us, but rather our children, Rei come over and feel this." The blond wasted no time in dragging the raven girl to the chain in question.

As Rei placed her hands on the chain she could feel it, the powers of both Mars and Venus co-existing, flowing through each other. One was a power she knew like the back of her hand, the other was in a sense foreign to her and the power would have terrified her had she not known the origin behind it. "This is amazing but, I thought you all didn't know how to fight?" the fire Senshi asked mystified.

"We can't fight if we don't know how. Our parents don't even know we can do stuff like this, and, honestly we were happy to not say a word. Mari and Yasu like to spar a lot but, I'd be happy to not battle if I had the choice." Her eyes looked fearful, almost as if she knew she would be one day sent to the frontlines. In reality both Rei and Minako knew this would not be far from the truth, they protect Usagi, and so one day their children would be fated to protect Chibiusa. It was an agonizing cycle indeed yet it was necessary.

"Well we can't stay quiet about this forever but, we will talk this over another time, how about for right now we stop by the kitchen to find some food." Minako suggested attempting to change the subject, filing it away for a later time.

"Sure I know where to go so I'll show you where it is." Yumi said as she led her mother's down the hallway. There were a lot of questions both parents and child alike wanted to ask, but, now wasn't the time. Soon perhaps but not now.

-------------END FLASHBACK-----------

Again, I felt sick for allowing false statements to pass my lips. I had to do it, but I think I may have come off more childlike than I should have. Perhaps my emotions slipped away from me in ways I hadn't realized. Whatever the feeling was, at that time I knew that somehow Minako could feel a different energy, an emotion that even if I hid, hit her in the face hard like a tidal wave hits the sand. We knew that it wasn't smart to keep them in the dark, however if the future would be so kind to manipulate things to our advantage everything would be left to us. Looking back, I think I have Saria to thank for allowing me to see the future she had manipulated; my innate abilities gave me the foresight to know what was going to happen. Soon things would go as planned. Little did the Dark Moon know of the secrets in our back pocket.

Talan was only a baby during the fall of the Light Moon. Did they really think she would have known of the fights first hand like they did? Could she really place blame on Setsuna? Talan a mage of time had to govern fate just as Setsuna did. With no merger in power her pure blood to that of a guardian of time and space only allowed her to do so much. Even so, it was with the deception and lies we used that allowed us to get as far as we had without seeing death sooner. With the many warriors of revolution on our side the tasks were simple enough.

-------- Flash Back-----

"Damn, the boss won't like this will he Katan?" A man in a dark cloak said pacing around the room. His hair was a deep purple color that cascaded down to the middle of his back; at his side he held two swords and a great axe rested on his back. His armor was a pale grey and heavy.

"Relax Dalan, we are after the kids not their folks, we got em' right where we want them." said a woman in a deep crimson dress, her hair was the same color as her brother's and she was slightly taller than him. Her boots held a three inch heel and were spiked at the ends.

"Yes, while we are on this topic, explain to me why exactly we are going after those pipsqueaks instead of the Senshi themselves. This all seem far too complicated." Dalan sighed before lighting up a cigarette.

"My you are quite the idiot aren't you? Everyone else who has gone up against the Sailor Senshi thus far have been killed no matter their origin, we aren't going to do anything as of yet, just watch the brats. Think of it, at this moment the Senshi are at their prime, however one day those kids will take over, and that little pink brat will take over for her mother, if we take the kids out there will be no legacy, thus sooner or later the moon kingdom will fall. With the kids out of the way we can then start an uprising." Katan said lighting up her own cigarette before putting her feet up on the table.

"Ah, but that's just it, our boss has a slight flaw in her little plan. We harm the kids we effectively piss off the parents of said kids, I dunno about you but I've heard quite a few horror stories about getting on the wrong end of a pissed off Sailor Senshi, and they were only teens then." Dalan rolled his eyes failing to see where the logic in this master plan was.

"Like I told you little brother, relax, Talan has it all under control. As long as she keeps toying with the time stream it'll keep everyone guessing, including the grandfather time himself. He has no idea what's even causing the disturbance. Also since we are no place near Serenity's territory she has no reason to track us, couple that with the fact the kids are now in the past, all we need now is to cause a few little commotions get the kids and go from there. All the pawns are in place, all we need to do is wait for orders, it could be in a few hours, a few days, a few weeks, who the hell knows, but we aren't allowed to do anything concerning the children without the word from the boss." Katan was quite tired explaining this whole thing for what seemed the millionth time.

"Don't worry, I'm in no rush to get killed, I'll bide my time like a good boy. We have waited a long time for this. I can wait even longer if need be as long as I can get some satisfying action in the end. However the boss never said we couldn't toy around with them a little first, but tell me why the flow of time is so important to our cause?" Dalan said closing his eyes leaning on a nearby wall.

"Use your brain and think for a moment if you will. Do you remember ten years ago when the castle was overrun with guards?" The Eldest sibling inquired with a disturbing grin on her face.

"Well duh, the security was so high it was nearly impossible to pass the walls surrounding it. If I remember correctly there were about a thousand guards from each planet guarding various areas of the moon and the outer boarders. That was around the time we first got word of the little brats." Dalan spoke with venom in his voice.

"Calm down my brother, this is exactly what we want. We couldn't target them then without drawing out an all out war, however we now know that the castle was so heavily guarded because the Senshi can't fight while pregnant, the kids are back in time, if we mess around enough with the stream before that damn Saria kid finds out we may be able to alter a few key points in this time stream." Katan said standing up from her seat to face her brother who looked highly confused, this was one reason he was ordered not to toy with things randomly.

"You have shit for brains so I'll spell it out for you yet again. If they can't transform, and there isn't a large scale army to protect them they are as good as dead, and as for the children, well put it this way, if their mommies can't save them I doubt we will have trouble taking care of a few ten year old brats. The time mage can't handle a single paradox situation well, so when it becomes a double or even triple paradox she'll have her hands full. Our only real threat is Saturn and Serenity, and I don't think taking down a solo Senshi will be too difficult. Once we off Saturn, the would be queen will be easy to take down. We already know who they are because we know where the kids are. All we need to do is wait for our orders. Talan should be starting with phase one of our little plan as we speak." Katan finished her little tirade; this was obvious information for her and her brother was in the same briefing two weeks ago, she really wished he would pay more attention to detail.

--------END FLASHBACK-----

Grandfather Time would be unable to kill off Setsuna, or any mage for that matter, if we kept him looking for the root of the problem. Even gods can have short comings when the people that serve them revolt. It would be true that one day he would find the ones to cause this collaborative change. Fate didn't just up and change so drastically on its own. One mage would have been caught instantly. However Time mages hold one thing in common. Their deity doesn't govern them. Be it of the Dark Moon or Light Moon they hold servitude to only one master. Every living person plays a pawn in the game of fate and it is these ageless warriors that must accept the task.

This had very little to do with me as a living being, besides knowing I was a pawn. My place in this entire plan was to ensure Chibiusa would be safe. It was my job as a combat leader to keep Sari in place. Should she act in a manner that could risk Chibiusa I had to know about it. I had to control it, and with that particular mage it was very hard to do. Sari was brash, and often times she did things without my approval. I hated having to lie to people I cared deeply for. I hated that this wouldn't cure some things, only allow for an equal battle ground. I would be leading combat soon and I knew it, even so, I knew it was my calling. My job as a Sailor Senshi.

_Mercenaries of the shrine, now who are you to speak for God  
With haughty eyes and lying tongues and hands that shed innocent blood  
Now who delivered you to power to interpret cavalry  
You gambled away our freedom to gain your own authority_

The day Luna called every one out to the field I felt bile in my mouth. The emotions around me, including my own made me feel ill. We were down a lot of warriors now, and all of these warriors were our parents. People we had to protect with our lives. I didn't know what fully lie ahead at that time, but I knew in my soul that we were going to fight. We would show ourselves as the proud Senshi that would show allegiance to Chibiusa in the far future. Just as she could so, we could fight. Much to my dismay I felt the burning eyes and the worried aura. It did nothing to ease my nerves as Luna gave the briefing for the situation at hand.

-----------------FLASHBACK---------

"Everyone place your transformation pens into the circle." Luna commanded. Then Artemis took the ones belonging to Ami, Makoto, Haruka, Michiru, Rei, and Minako. As he did this, Luna explained her actions.

"Those of you without a transformation pen pay close attention. You are all unable to transform currently due to power siphoning that any Senshi would go through when they become pregnant. As you can see we have taken the ones belonging to your better halves as well. This is for your safety. We are going to assume that you will be unable to transform since your genes are also playing a large role. We now have reason to believe that this was one of the major reasons that this new enemy planted that strange gook, so that you would be unable to battle, and if you were to transform you would most likely cause harm to your lover and the baby. Lucky for us we have reinforcements." Luna said looking to the children.

"Luna? Pardon my vocabulary but, what the fuck are you on about? Reinforcements? I see two scouts that are already part of our team and I see three ten year olds unable to kill a fly much less a youma." Haruka asked as she and Makoto looked onward cockeyed while Usagi wondered aloud if the cat had ingested a little too much cat nip.

Minako and Rei gave each other knowing glances and before Luna could respond to the rather rude reactions and Rei decided to moderate the situation. "Umm, guys. They aren't as defenseless as they may look."

"What are you on about Rei? They are children." This time it was Ami who stated her voice.

"Please, I don't think explaining will help. Let's just show you, but, please don't be mad." Came a little voice that was identified as Yumi. The three kids looked at her and then nodded. Then they each clearly signified not only that they were battle ready but that they truly did hold the power of both planets.

Yumi once again pulled forth her flame chain as it swirled along the grass. To the surprise of most, it didn't catch anything on fire. She then took it and lassoed it around one of the benches and in a matter of seconds it had not only caught flame it had been crushed to pieces by the sharpness of the chain itself. That was just a minor little piece of destruction compared to what happened next.

The flames on the chain began to grow more fierce as she searched for a target to show her true powers finding one in a large peace stone. She called to Mari and Yasu to throw it high in the sky and they followed her command. Next she shouted her attack.

"CUPID FLAME!"

She shouted as the chain morphed into what looked like an odd slingshot. Then she inhaled the fire from the chain and produced a heart from a kiss. Placing it in the slingshot she sent it flying smashing the rock to scorched bits as her chain returned to normal. It in effect looked like a Venus "Love and Beauty Shock" mixed heavily with what would be a demented Mars "Flame Sniper"

This earned a long silence. As the other two also proceeded in a demonstration.

Mari being from both the sky and the sea had an odd power. She didn't actually have a weapon to pulled forth just yet, instead she stood far away from her fellow Senshi spinning around like a top, arms wide open small bits of water collecting on her fingertips. Shortly they felt a large gust of wind followed by a serge of water collecting from the humidity in the air. It began to swirl around the child mixing before she called out an attack.

"THYPHOON STRIKE!"

As she screamed the attack out the large vortex went sent flying taking out everything in its direct path. Saltwater was sent spraying as the speed picked up. Finally the gust died down and any water that was left hit the ground before it evaporated back into the air around her. Haruka and Michiru looked at each other with awe as what seemed to be just a mere child before proved that even she was capable of causing massive havoc.

Then it happened, all eyes turned to Yasu in a quiet stare. It was as if she was if she now had the spotlight on her. None of the Senshi had seen powers merged like this, so, in all honesty they didn't even know what to think, much less put any part of a coherent thought into words.

She walked to another open patch of grass and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. She contemplated backing out momentarily but thought better of it remembering she would never hear the end of it from Mari. Then she raised her hand high in the air as she called out her attack

"FREEZE ATOM!"

Clouds gathered quickly around the child as both lightning and rain gathered in her hand. Clasping it together she formed a large atom of water at the end of a long string of electricity. She swung it around a few times before sending it crashing into a tree. The water froze completely as the lightning finished wrapping around it. Then a large clap of thunder was heard as the tree crystallized and shattered from the force of the shock.

Then all three girls looked at one another and nodded. All three shouting an attack.

"NEPTUNE'S MELODY" Shouted Mari producing a Keytar from pure air playing a very soothing classical tune. Even more air swirled around creating a cyclone around the three girls.

"MERCURY'S HARMONY" shouted Yasu producing a small Harp made from pure electricity and begin to follow Mari's lead, soon rain started to fall within the vortex they were creating. Some of the water had frozen to create hail and fog; some was manipulated by Mari to make the storm even bigger.

"BALLAD OF VENUS" Shouted Yumi as she produced a microphone of flames humming an angelic tune into it while the metallic fragments contained in the earth's soil rose to the surface catching on fire and melting into an assortment of molten metals swirling around dangerously.

By this time all of the adults seeing this quite massive storm surging decided to clear the way and backed away from the children not a moment too soon.

In unison the children called out one final phrase.

"SYMPHONY UNITE!" they shouted as the final phase of the attack took place. The destruction it caused was quite a show. Trees were splintered into pieces, bush and ground cover were left turned up and dismantled, and the metal had melted a lot of things while other items were on fire or smoking. All in all it looked like a war zone had just passed by. It left much of the greenery in shambles and the adults flabbergasted.

Makoto found her voice first but only momentarily before her mouth was covered by Hotaru. "holy merciful shi-"

"Good lord." Haruka said taking in the damage, while Rei and Minako looked at the destruction Hotaru was in the midst of repairing with her healing abilities. The rest of the group didn't dare speak a word.

The kids were fearful as if they had done wrong and promptly ran to hide from what they were positive was going to be very angry parents. After Hotaru had fully healed everything to its original state she took a seat while everyone still seemed to be attempting to catch their breath, none of them had moved. Luna and Artemis followed by Chibiusa went after the children leaving only Hotaru to deal with the mental train wreck that currently her fellow Senshi were.

"Well they did say they were afraid to fight and cause a lot of damage, now I see why. It was Luna's fault though so blame her." Hotaru laughed bringing the others out of their stupor.

"That's what worries me; they weren't actually trying to create a total destruction. What happens if they end up fighting something and tear the location to shreds like they did here?" Michiru said.

"Oh relax; at least we know they can help defend you guys. Currently we are sans six Senshi, that backup power needs to come from some place, lucky for us it can come from them." Hotaru said still highly amused, it was probably because she too could cause massive destruction, so this little display though powerful was not something to freak out over.

"They can't fight, look what they did here. Just think of what would happen in a youma attack." Minako reasoned feeling extremely worried.

"By the same logic what happens in the event of a youma attack if they don't fight? You are all out of commission for nine months tell me please, oh so very wise leader, who do you think will protect Usagi and Chibiusa if another youma does rear its ugly head. You?" Hotaru shot back sassily. Though she was being a smart ass there was a high level of truth to her words and the others knew it. Everyone was on edge; these three kids could produce carnage like none other if they had really wanted.

---------End Flashback----

I know I was more frightened than ever at the destruction I caused. We were powerful, almost too powerful for our own good. We ran away and hid from the people who knew just what battle was. Their own power had gotten them into a lot of trouble before. We watched from a safe distance as Hotaru seemed amused. She was the only one who didn't seem fearful of what we had done, even rectifying the damage to the best of her ability. Even then I held a large respect for Hotaru; see was power in a very deadly form. I never wished to know the power she could wield, mine was bloodcurdling enough.  
Hotaru was angry when she first found out that the dead were interfering in ways they shouldn't. It was the first time I had seen her become so angry. The malice in her eyes was that deadly purple and I felt as if she would kill anyone if they stepped out of line. Things I knew about, or thought I knew about were only the very top of the proverbial iceberg.

------Flash Back--------------

Setsuna carried Hotaru most of the way since the girl was quite exhausted. Her fatigue made her unable to heel her own wounds meaning Saeko would need to dress quite a lot of cuts. Even with Senshi healing blood loss was still dangerous in high amounts. The fact that most of them were shallow helped but there were enough that if left untreated would have high risk of infection. Walking through the door Setsuna placed the child on the table, Saeko, Ami, Haruka, and Michiru rushed to the table, while the others attempted to restrain a beyond panicked Usagi and Chibiusa.

"Oh my god! What happened out there?!" Michiru said looking at the young Senshi.

"Relax would you, it's just a couple of scrapes. We have more important things to talk about rather than my being roughed up a little." Hotaru said somewhat humorously, attempting to get people to calm down.

"Little! You look like you got in a fight that was more than just a_ little_ heated! Who the HELL did this, I'll kill em' I swear I will!" Haruka's temper already started to flair.

"ALL OF YOU SIT DOWN!" Hotaru screamed now beyond the point of being angry and forgot all about being good natured and civil. "We have other things to worry about then me having a little blade on blade roughhousing! Let Saeko bandage my wounds already and the rest of you for the love of god sit down!" She commanded highly agitated. The other Senshi knew that tone in Hotaru's voice. It meant I mean business and anyone who thinks otherwise better be ready to deflect a blunt end of the silence glaive. She had only hit Rei with it once a long time ago, for reasons now unimportant, but, they knew that look and all promptly did as they were told.

"Now I want answers! Why is it exactly, that people who aren't supposed to be alive yet are floating in and out of the wood work! I know you know mama I and want an explanation right now…" Hotaru stared at Setsuna with a critical eye. The rest of the Senshi became deathly silent. It was rare for an outburst of that nature to come from the Senshi of death and rebirth, especially when aimed at one of the people whom she saw as a parent.

"They were reborn, apparently." Setsuna said as she explained in high detail the events surrounding the actions that took place tonight. Retelling the past and what lead to the malice. She however was the guardian of time so even she had limits as to what she could say, and honestly as far as future events went, it was hazy or inaccurate anyway.

"Ok, let me get this straight." Hotaru said carefully. "Light Moon tolerates Dark Moon. You help them out. Other Light Moon planets help as well when you spread the word. Serenity the third tries to lend a hand, effectively pissing off Dark Moon, and a conflict starts a war amongst themselves. Then the first war occurs. Then Serenity the fourth comes into power and cut off most of the ties to Dark Moon, gets married, then has a son and later a daughter. Then they separate. Then the fall of the White moon we all know so well happened years later." The young girl paused for a moment seemingly in deep concentration before she continued.

"During those events, you and Metaila raised orphans. You left to fight for the Light Moon, she became ill, and to stop the suffering of the children you sealed their souls into Metaila. Beryl comes along and we know what happened. We also know what happened when Beryl came back to life later and Usagi got a hold of her. Am I correct in simplifying this information?" Hotaru asked still agitated looking towards Setsuna. The others had questions and concerns but they decided to wait until this exchange was over.

"Yes, that would be along the most simplistic lines possible, but in any case correct." The Senshi of time confirmed.

"Ok then, I know I'm the Senshi of death and rebirth, however there is one thing that still eludes me if you could be so kind as to clarify. How, in the hell…do you explain the fact that they are ALIVE! If what you all say happened when Usagi fought Beryl is to be believed they should have been dusted. Poof! Into little lights like everyone else that was killed, but nooo they are walking, living, breathing, LIFE FORMS! How does that happen? How are they still living… at that WHY are they able to travel here of all places!?" Hotaru asked releasing a tangent worthy of instilling total fear too all that stood before the verbal conflict.

"I don't know. I was trying to figure that out until she…" Setsuna trailed off quietly.

"So it was her. Damn it! See this is WHY no one, not even you or I, should be playing with the souls of the dead to mix them with the living. Great! Not only do we have the Dark Moon goons to deal with, now I need to break a death pact. Just lovely." Hotaru said before calming herself. Most in the room were smart enough to gather the majority of the conversation. Well, all of it except:

"Umm, what's a death pact?" The question came from Haruka asking what most were utterly petrified to even think of asking.

"A death pact is one made upon a death bed. You know you're going to die so you offer what you can in aid. Things of simple nature would be the donations of organs after you pass on, or leaving behind a legacy. These can be over ridden easily by time itself or changes with certain lines of fate. However, there are certain pacts that are made that cannot or, rather will not be broken by the barer of the soul. This was the case dealing with Metaila. Her power of darkness and hate came from the orphaned kids. She vowed to protect them. She's dead, as in not coming back, however this also means she can't rest in peace. If there is no rest for a soul there will be no eventual rebirth. It would be far too dangerous. I remember Setsuna-mama saying grief kept her behind. This is a very plausible reason as to why she's protecting them now. She vowed to protect them as spirits frozen in time after she passed, but you know the ball was broken. That shadow was her in a new manifestation as a spirit." Hotaru said calmly.

"Is she a danger this time as well then?" asked Usagi extremely worried.

"No, she's not filled with hate anymore, but her vow still stands. She cannot be unbound from that pact until justice has been met. This means she won't hurt us by her own doing, but… she may stop us from hurting them as she agreed. She had vowed to protect them from war and pain. When that was going on it was against the Light Moon, effectively that means her spirit included us with in that pact." the Senshi of death a rebirth explained.

"Well you can do it right? Break the pact I mean, you do govern death after all." This came from Rei, simplistic question seeking a simplistic answer. Sadly one could not be given.

"I wish it were that easy. Most death pacts don't rival others or conflict with other's promises. This one, however, does. A similar pact was made using the Silver Crystal when Usagi's mother died. She did it to protect the Light Moon and the ones she loved. Now can anyone tell me what the one connection is between the entire ruckuses on both sides of the spectrum?" Hotaru found this to have a simple one word answer, but not one of the scouts had made the deep connections until it dawned on Saeko.

"Oh my god! Suna!" the doctor turned to the woman she loved wide eyed while Hotaru only nodded before giving further explanation.

"Exactly, she's the one, pardon the term, pawn to this little game. Death pacts aren't easily stoppable if there is still a part unfinished. Both will remain unfinished until the thirtieth century. Also breaking one pact would have a drastic effect on the other because of the link. Who knows what other pacts there are among the ones who would fall. In the end that'll create quite the galactic war if someone can't be killed but can kill others. Tell me Setsuna-mama and be honest. If you knew she was going to die whose side would you have ran to first? Serenity out of duty or, Metaila out of love?" Hotaru asked very gently as to not stir up excess emotions.

"I honestly don't know. I don't know what I would have done. Now that I know what you're saying and I've had years to live and reflect I can't be sure. If I was still in that time however, and know what I do now, if I had lived the life I had, I think I would have run to Metaila's side." Setsuna sighed earning a lot of cross eyed glares from the Senshi.

"Exactly, and that's why even if you can read time you are still blocked from seeing your own life. Anyway I need to do a little bit of damage control. I need to make sure none of the spirits floating around out here will be highly agitated if I were to break the pact. Rei you're the only one here capable enough to deal with spirits besides myself, if you don't mind do you think you can place a few wards around the castle? Just in case we have another run in, I don't want Metaila getting in the way again. After the wards are in place I'll handle the rest." The young Senshi said leaning back finally relaxing.

--------End Flashback-----

_Find another state of mind  
Reach out grab hold  
strange fire burns with the motion of love_

I felt that if we were able to grab hold of a new future we could change all of fate. I am not opposed to war, it is in my bloodline to accept the fact that we must slice down those who pose danger to our realm. Even if this is so, war is one thing, massacring is another. Past sins proved that in graphic detail. In the shadow realm I saw things that no one should ever have to see. What was worse is that I could feel it. I could feel the pain and sorrow, the depth of pain among those memories. There were times filled with happiness as well and these were also embedded within my mind. These were my parents who had once dreamed of a bright future. These were the ones of hope I heard Saria speak so highly of. I was unsure if I could believe that they would always carry that hope but I knew that I was unwilling to accept that they would fail in creating a proper future. If I had to stir things up I would willingly. I had to because it was my job as a combat leader.

I had to do it for those I cared for. In thinking that I realized my flaw, if I stood alone I would fall alone. If we all stood together, we would all fall together. Strength was in numbers and it was my job to unite our ranks. What we needed was a way to unite people from many planets. We would turn the tides in ways that would be deadly to some. I had to accept that not all could be saved, even if it would be my own friends or family that would be sacrificed. When we lost Hotaru in those fights I learned just how much could be lost. I saw before my eyes the true effects of being a warrior and I didn't like the fact that I was powerless to stop it. One thing rang in my mind and still does to this day. Four warriors stood with an amount of emotion that I can't clearly define and sometimes I feel like them, emotionless because of the lack of explanation. I have not a single one I can describe, thus there must be none there. There we emotions of a soldier, but if this is the case I must be no better than them, the opposing side, the ones I should have faced if we had not changed fate.

I still remember what they told us, I can still feel the scars of their words. They were ones that pained all of us, Saria especially.

----- Flash Back-----

"What are you all doing, loitering in this state of unrest; have you no place of calm in which to return?"

They did not speak. The men looked on as if to see past her, knowing that others were with her, even if unseen. Emotions ran high in each of the men, among them were many others hidden with the depths of shadow. The soft cry's of children from the past filled Silver's mind. The screams of a past war tore at her heart and looking around she noticed that it was also affecting the kids; out of all of them it was Saria who seemed most affected. However it wasn't the noise that caught her attention, it was the men before her.

"Damn you all! Speak when you are addressed! I will not tolerate any more lies from you or the Dark Moon. Have you forgotten me, us, did you really think you could leave us behind!"

The young time mage was indeed angry. Annoyed at these men, but for what reasons Silver was still unsure. Four pairs of eyes hardened at the voice as if they could see her and one of them approached. Stepping out from hiding, a very effeminate looking male knelt down to Saria. His eyes were a clouded in mystery.

"You were always your mother's daughter weren't you? Both of them, though you would never admit it. Funny, you take on the look of Pluto, yet that venom; you are most clearly not Pluto. I did not know the daughter of one's so powerful would stand here amongst the dead. This leads me to wonder, why have you come here, and why do you direct your vengeance to us?" The man asked honestly, clearly interested in why this child stood before them now, so very angry.

"You know damn well Zoi! Your memories have returned fully in death once again. You will continue to be reborn, and history will repeat! It will happen over and over. Each time a new incarnation will appear, one with new hardships, new battles. However each time you will join an uprising and start a war zone! Fate never ceases to piss me off. Because of your stupidity I have lost my mother! Time lines may be different, but I still lost her! I lost you all as well, look at this shit, what the HELL do I have to do to get this to stop!" Saria yelled pounding on the man's chest before her as she fell to the ground.

The others saw this and had no idea what to think. She knew these men, and very well apparently. Three more moved towards her, looking on in careful observation. One knelt down next to the man now known as Zoisite, embracing him in sort of a half hug while placing his other hand on Saria's shoulder. The other two seemed a bit more standoffish only standing closely by.

"There is nothing you can do. When we are eventually reborn we will gain memories again. We cannot guarantee that we won't target the Moon Kingdom, or anyplace else for that matter. Surely you know the lines of fate, this is our curse. Be it in another life, or another timeline, history will always repeat. You cannot change that." The man with long white hair looked at the girl before him with pity, that was something rarely seen and she knew it.

"You're lying… again, you're lying. You promised afterward you'd come home safe! Most of your family is dead because of you. Yet you still continue to lie. You still say it can't be helped… Once was one thing, two strikes, just fine and dandy, but this is too far. Fate can and will happen, it always does, but to not fight it, to just bow down willingly to the events that unfold… That is a cowardly excuse! Why do you choose to be reborn if all you cause is death?!" Saria scolded, clearly not willing to listen to his reasoning.

"You wouldn't understand. You are a mere child, a little girl no less, seeking a place to vent. If that is your wish do not place the blame on Kunzite, or anyone of us! Blame your mothers, blame your queen, blame the past, anything but us, because all we did was follow an uprising. We never intended to become ensnared into every damnable battle the Dark Moon wishes to fight!" Another man retaliated, this one with short blond hair.

"You say that now, but when you are reborn, no matter what things say, no matter how a future is foretold, there will be hardships, and you WILL waver. Now I'll ask you this, you killed those who meant something of importance to you before, can you do it again? Can you bring yourself to hurt more people should another war arise from the ashes, it will happen. When it does, I'll be forced to fight you, perhaps even kill you, and you will hold the same obligations to me. Do you want that!?!" Saria asked. It wasn't a simple question, she demanded to know, enraged eyes staring down the man who she still detested to this day.

"Calm down, both of you…" Zoisite said sighing "It was not our intent to harm people, but it was our intent to make a certain point known. Like you say, history will always be bound to repeat itself in some way, shape, or form. In that event you know our jobs will come with a price. However we like to live, we like to feel alive. That and the unknown of the other side scare us, but, what hurts the most in it all is not being able to feel anything. It was not our intent to get tangled up in this twisted string of fate. Doomed to never be freed from the life of a soldier whether to protect the Light Moon and the King or to rebel against it no matter what we are stuck." The man sighed as he stood up along with Kunzite looking for all of the world lost in the eyes of those around them.

---------------End Flashback--------

_When you learn to love yourself, you will dissolve all the stones that are cast  
You will learn to burn the icing sky, to melt the waxen mask  
To have to hold of true relief this is the peace that's gonna take you higher  
I come to you with my offering, I bring you strange fire_

I had all the more reason to hate my family after what I had seen, what I saw vividly portraying in the eyes of those men. In the future a war would break out just like in the past. That was what we wanted to stop. That's when I started to wonder how far this really went. How deep did the fighting go, how much hate filled a planet that could be over ridden by many different deities. How many wars had Saria seen? For that matter Setsuna saw countless as well, no doubt in my mind as I stood almost appalled by the words gracing my ears.

I wanted so much to just run to the ghosts, to embrace their sadness. To try and understand a mere fraction of why they still mourned in such a realm. I couldn't understand it, but with the things I saw, the understanding in front of my eyes, tangible to the soul within me, I knew that fate could not remain the same. My resolve had to strengthen and I think it was what we saw before us that made things seem so real. We now understood a feeling that while we could not describe affected all of us in a manner I will never forget.

I could never speak for the Yasu or Mari. I could never begin to describe what they felt through our experience that we have had to cope with thus far. These memories are only a few that stand out among a great many more. I know of a way to bring peace, all of us now strive for that goal. It will not be a world of perfection, but I know as I stand here musing about my thoughts that there will be a way to fix things. One day we will make things right again. I now know why I must fight; my fire doesn't burn with vengeance seeking death like most who hail from Mars. It burns with the meaning of real passion; I don't only have the power to be a Sailor Senshi, a warrior, hell bent to take lives like I was taught. I don't only have to pray to gods or fight in their name. In fact I detest thinking that I fight in the name of any deity, to do that; to wield power of gods is something we shouldn't do. We can kill far too many, and in the process we will harm many innocent people. I don't want peace any more, I want life. I will fight for what I believe in. If people can't handle my flames, my vengeance in my views than that is my issue, but never will I use a deity as a reason to defend my view. I wouldn't be right to do so.

_This is a message, a message of love  
Love that moves from the inside out  
Love that never grows tired  
I come to you with strange fire_

I am the daughter of Hino Rei and Aino Minako. I wield fiery passion, and that of love and emotion. I'm hard like cold steel in my adversaries, but I can melt my path and shape my future anew. I can also be melted by others, and when I do falter those that have melted my resolve will have to catch me. They will have to help me. I am only one child of the future, but even so I hope my single voice can sing out to the hearts of many. I am Yumi and I wield this strange fire.

END-

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A/N: Well I hope you found that enjoyable. Please read and review!


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